Vacation Homes

Curb Appeal: Transform barren look

For this home's entrance, all is not lost

The large L-shaped entrance of this home now boasts sleek lines, modern touches and cool sand colours.

Photograph by: Suzanne Rowe
, The Gazette

It's not the wall of China or the Berlin Wall but this wall is big enough and could be used as a screen for a slide show. The owner couldn't figure out how to utilize its surface in a creative way. In the near future, her main focus was going to be on having the driveway paved and introducing a more adequate and inviting porch area. I felt that this home could benefit from a polished, contemporary look.

Step one is the sawing of the bricks forming the window arches. A few of the removed bricks will be used to continue the vertical borders all the way up to the soffit. This should be done by a professional brick layer. Identical new wood or aluminum siding will have to be installed above all windows and doors. The surfaces will be sand colour without any pink undertones.

If at all possible, the pipe on the left of the photo should be eliminated and the rain water redirected to the right gutter. There would obviously be a joint between the two horizontal conduits and a gradual slant toward the right drain. If this reveals itself to be unfeasible because of an abundant volume of water, the pipe will have to play chameleon and mirror its background tints. A classic modern new door with four simple glass openings and a duo of matching side windows will turn back the hands of time. A generous two-level porch space that would be slightly larger than the door and co-ordinated windows will be made out of large square or rectangular light sand-coloured patio slabs.

For a large-scale statement, a spacious pergola will be constructed over the L-shaped walls. The colours will mimic all the other sand elements. For an unexpected modern twist, a bold horizontal blind structure made out of cedar or treated wood planks, placed on an angle will sit halfway from the door and the front corner. Our new feature wall configuration will also be reproduced on the other side of the pergola. This one will play host to a showy climbing Campsis with its eye-catching yellow orange trumpet-like blooms. For a special attraction, centred and placed in a line in front of the blinds, three tall flower containers will put forward elegant annual ornamental grasses. They will effortlessly entertain and let their ever-moving heads of green hair down. Their feathery tails will swing on the wind's request. A fourth pot could be placed near the new backyard walkway. It would hold a Papyrus plant and a few overflowing silver Dichondra Silver Falls.

Only half seen here is a weeping Morus that will furnish a semi-circular-shaped bed centred on the wall between the two twin windows. On each side of this decorative tree, two sets of three Potentillas would accompany it along the facade and up to each corner. Other ones will edge the new pathway toward the fence. A larger silverfinish light fixture over the garage will harmonize with the vertically placed address numbers on the right side of the entrance and with the new sleek door handle.

The owner of this stylish home won't have to make shadow figures on her wall anymore to entertain friends and family.

Vegetation (from left to right):

- Morus Alba Pendula (weep-ing decorative tree)

- Potentilla Mango Tango (9, shrubs, orange)

- Pennisetum Seta Seum (3, ornamental grasses, tall planters)

- Campsis Radicans Indian Summer (climbing, orange yellow)

- Lamium White Nancy (silver ground cover, border, white)

- Cyperus Papyrus Little Tut (1, annual, tall planter, garage)

- Dichondra Silver Falls (3, annuals, silver, tall planter, garage)

HOUSEWARMING

Most homes can use a little help when it comes to warming up their curb appeal. If you'd like some inexpensive ideas on how to improve the appearance of your home, send a clear photo of your house with your commentary to: Suzanne Rowe, Designer, suro@bell.net. Because of the volume of email she receives, it is not possible for her to individually reply to each correspondent.